PHOENIX (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 20 points, Daniel Gafford added 16 and the Dallas Mavericks won their first game since star Luka Doncic’s injury, beating the Phoenix Suns 98-89 on Friday night.

Kevin Durant scored 35 points for the Suns, who have lost four of their last five games.

Doncic is expected to miss about a month with a calf injury he suffered in the Christmas loss to Minnesota. The Mavs were further shorthanded in the third quarter on Friday after forwards Naji Marshall and PJ Washington — along with Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic — were sent off after a brief fight.

Thanks to a balanced performance on both ends of the field, the Mavs still held on. Dallas never trailed and led by as many as 18 points. Spencer Dinwiddie and Maxi Kleber each scored 15 points and Klay Thompson added 11.

Dallas took a 55-39 halftime lead, led by Irving’s 15 points. The Suns shot just 33.3% in the first two quarters.

Takeaways

Mavericks: It was a tough win for the Mavs, who controlled the game from the start despite playing without Doncic. Irving made just 6 of 21 shots overall, but 5 of 10 from behind the arc.

Suns: Two days after a stirring Christmas Day victory over the Nuggets, the Suns fell back into mediocrity. Part of the problem is the absence of injured All-Star Devin Booker, but as the Mavericks showed on Friday, teams can have some level of success without one of their stars.

Key moment

The Suns briefly cut the Mavs’ lead to 81-75 midway through the fourth, but Dallas’ Quentin Grimes responded with a tough 3-pointer to extend the lead back to nine.

Key statistics

The Suns have a 7-14 record since starting the season 8-1.

Next

Mavericks at Trail Blazers on Saturday; Sonnen at Warriors on Saturday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA